Cutting wheel for slitting machines

ABSTRACT

A cutting knife for slitting machines, which knife has a housing adapted for attachment to the machine and a rotary cutting wheel movable toward a backing roll in response to fluid pressure.

United States Patent 1 a [111 3,777,607 Schofield Dec. 11, 1973 CUTTINGWHEEL FOR SLITTING [56] References Cited MACHINES UNITED STATES PATENTSInventor: Edward Schofield, pp 2,292,723 8/1942 Stocker 83/506MOIltClBil', NJ. 2,712,852 7/1955 Carte1:.... 83/482 Assignee: JDusenbcrg p y Inc. 2,802,528 8/1957 Mastnanl 83/482 Clifton, NJ. PrimaryExammer-Frank T. Yost Filed: g- 1972 Attorney-Rudolph J. Jurick 21 Appl.No.: 284,559

[57] ABSTRACT Cl A cutting knife for slitting machines, which knife hasa 33/693 housing adapted for attachment to the machine and a [51] Int.Cl B26d 1/22 rotary cutting whee] movable toward a backing roll in [58]Field of Search 83/482, 505, 506, response fluid pressure.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures I i It" Illll PMENTED 11 975 i g-agg e;

CUTTING WHEEL FOR SLITTING MACHINES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Theinvention relates to a cutting knife of the class shown in US. Pat. No.2802528, issued Aug. 13, 1957 to Alvin A. Mastriani. In order to replacethe cutting wheel of such knife, itis necessary not only to remove theknife from the machine but, also, to substantially disassemble theknife, thereby resulting in a loss of machine operating time. Also, caremust be exercised when the knife is again attached to the machine inorder to position the knife in the original cutting position.

In a cutting knife made in accordance with this invention, the cuttingwheel is replaceable in situ, that is, the cutting wheel is replaceablewithout removing the knife from the machine, and without movingthebacking roll relative to the knife.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A bi-furcated slide bar is mounted for slidingmovement in aligned slots formed in a pair of spaced mounting platesadapted for attachment to a slitting machine.

A cutting wheel is carried by a ball bearingmounted on an axle whichextends into aligned holes formed in the slide bar. The holes in theslide bar communicate with slots also formed in the slide bar, the axesof said slots being angularly offset with respect to the axis alongwhich the slide bar is slidable. These slots communicate with channelsformed in the mountingplates, thereby to form passageways along whichthe axleof the cutting wheel passes as the wheel is removed from theknife.

An object of this invention is the provision of a cutting knife for aslitting machine, which knife is constructed and arranged so that itscuttingwheel can be replaced without removing the knife from the machineto which it is attached.

An object of this invention is the provision of a cutting knife having aslide bar mounted in a housing and supporting a rotary cutting wheel,said housing and slide bar being provided with cooperating slots wherebythe cutting wheel is removable from the housing while the latter isattached to a machine.

The above-stated and other objects and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent from the following description when taken with theaccompanying drawings. It will be understood, however, that the drawingsare for purposes of illustration and are not to be construed as definingthe scope or limits of the in- I vention, reference being had forthelatter purpose to the claims appended hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings wherein like referencecharacters denote like parts in the several views:

FIG. I is a side elevational view of a cutting knife made in accordancewith one embodiment of this invention, the cutting wheel being shown inthe retracted position and a portion of the fluidcylinder being brokenaway;

FIG. 2 is a corresponding top plan view but with the backing roll andfluid cylinder omitted;

FIG. 3 is a central longitudinal sectional view and showing the cuttingwheel advanced against the backing roll;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side elevational view of the slide bar;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view thereof; and

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view showing a mounting plate made inaccordance with another embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1 3, the cuttingknife comprises a housing formed of a pair of spaced mounting plates 10and 11 secured to metal spacers l2 and 13 by the socket screws 14, thespacers being secured to a rectangular bar 15 by the cap screws 16. Abushing 17, (FIG. 3), secured in place by a socket screw, (FIG. I),assures a parallel orientation of the two mounting plates. A.generallyrectangular, bi-furcated slide bar 20 is slidable in alignedslots formed in the mounting plates, the slot in the mounting plate 10being visible in FIG. 1 and identified by the numeral 21. The controlrod 22 has a threaded end threaded into a hole formed in the base of theslide bar. This control rod, passing through a flexible shield 23, hasits other end secured to the piston 24 of a fluid cylinder 25, saidpiston being springbiased to normally retain the slide bar in theillustrated, retracted position. Fluid under pressure, applied to thecylinder, will drive the piston to the left, thereby to move the cuttingwheel into the operating position.

The cutting wheel is mounted on a ball bearing 27 having an axle 28press-fitted through the inner race therof, the ends of the axleprojecting from the planar faces of the cutting wheel as seen in FIG. 2.The projecting end portions of the axle extend into aligned holes formedin the arms of the slide bar 20 when the cutting wheel is mounted asillustrated. Referring par ticularly to FIGS. 4 and 5, these show theslide bar 20 having the aligned holes 29, 29 formed in the arms thereof.Also formed in these arms are aligned slots 30 and 30', which slotsterminate in the holes. These slots have a width slightlylarger than thediameter of the cuttingwheel axle except for the points where the slotsmerge into the holes. At these points, identified by the arrows a a, theslot width is slightly smaller than the axle diameter. Thus, when theaxle is inserted into the slots a pressure must be applied thereto tosnap the axle into the holes.

The aligned slots in the slide bar also communicate, individually, withchannels 33 and 33 formed in the facing surfaces of the mounting plates10 and 11 when the slide bar. is in the illustrated, retracted position,FIGS. 1 and 2. The width of these channels is larger than the diameterof the cutting wheel axle and the distance between the bottom walls ofthese channels is slightly greater than the axle length. The channelsformed inthe mounting plates and the slots formed in the arms of theslide bar constitute passageways for accommodating the projectingportions of the axle as the cutting wheel is positioned in the knifehousing or, conversely, as the cutting wheel is removed from thehousing. It will be noted that the two mounting plates 10 and 11 havereduced widths in the region of the cutting wheel, thereby exposing asignificant portion of the wheel. The cutting wheel is removable fromthe housing by grasping the exposed portion thereof with a pair ofpliers and pulling in the upward direction. To replace the cutting wheelit is positioned between the mounting plates with the projecting endportions of its axle positioned in the channels 33, 33'. These channelsand the aligned slots in the slide bar serve to direct the axle towardthe holes formed in the arms of the slide bar. A downward pressure nowapplied to the cutting wheel will cause the axle to snap into positionin said holes.

The cutting knife is fastened on a slitting machine by securing it to afixed dovetail support bar 35 by means of the screw 36 and the generallytriangular clamping member 37 which is pivotally mounted between the twomounting plates. When the slide bar is in the retracted position, asshown in FIG. 1, the cutting wheel is spaced a predetermined distancefrom a backing roll 38. Fluid pressure applied to the cylinder 25 causesthe cutting wheel to advance into pressure contact with the backingroll, as shown in FIG. 3. It will be apparent that the cutting wheel isreplaceable without removing the knife from the dovetail support bar andwithout changing the pre-set spacing between the knife and the backingroll. The operation can be performed with a minimum loss of machineoperating time.

Reference now is made to FIG. 6 showing a mounting plate made inaccordance with another embodiment of this invention. The mounting plate40 has formed therein the slot 21 for receiving the slide bar, whichslot communicates with a laterally extending slot 41. A pair of suchplates would be secured to spacers 13 (FIG. 3) to form the knifehousing. The slot 41 in the mounting plate 40 (FIG. 6) and a similarslot formed in the second one of such pair of mounting plates, serve thesame purpose as the channels 33 and 33 formed in the mounting plates 10and 11, FIG. 2.

Having now described the invention what I desire to protect by LettersPatent is set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A cutting knife for a slitting machine comprising,

a. a housing having aligned slots formed therein,

b. means for mounting the housing on a slitting machine,

c. an elongated bi-furcated slide bar mounted for sliding movement alongthe slots of the housing,

d. aligned holes formed in the arms of the slide bar which holescommunicate with aligned slots angularly offset with respect to the axisof the slide bar,

e. means forming aligned channels in the said housing, which channelscommunicate with the slots in the slide bar when the slide bar is in apredetermined position, and

f. a rotatable cutting wheel carried by an axle extending into thealigned holes formed in the arms of the slide bar.

2. The invention as recited in claim 1, wherein the slots in the slidebar are formed proximate to the free ends of the slide bar arms, whereinthese slots have a widthexceeding the diameter of the said axle exceptfor the points where the slots merge into the said aligned holes, atwhich points the width of said slots is slightly less than the axlediameter.

3. The invention as recited in claim 1, wherein the said housingcomprises a pair of spaced plates, and wherein the said means formingaligned channels comprises aligned grooves formed in the facing surfacesof said plates.

4. The invention as recited in claim 1, wherein the said housingcomprises a pair of spaced plates, and wherein the said means formingaligned slots comprises aligned slots formed in said plates andextending to edge portions thereof.

5. The invention as recited in claim 1 in combination with a fluidcylinder having a piston, and a control rod having one end connected tosaid piston and the other end connected to said slide bar.

1. A cutting knife for a slitting machine comprising, a. a housinghaving aligned slots formed therein, b. means for mounting the housingon a slitting machine, c. an elongated bi-furcated slide bar mounted forsliding movement along the slots of the housing, d. aligned holes formedin the arms of the slide bar which holes communicate with aligned slotsangularly offset with respect to the axis of the slide bar, e. meansforming aligned channels in the said housing, which channels communicatewith the slots in the slide bar when the slide bar is in a predeterminedposition, and f. a rotatable cutting wheel carried by an axle extendinginto the aligned holes formed in the arms of the slide bar.
 2. Theinvention as recited in claim 1, wherein the slots in the slide bar areformed proximate to the free ends of the slide bar arms, wherein theseslots have a width exceeding the diameter of the said axle except forthe points where the slots merge into the said aligned holes, at whichpoints the width of said slots is slightly less than the axle diameter.3. The invention as recited in claim 1, wherein the said housingcomprises a pair of spaced plates, and wherein the said means formingaligned channels comprises aligned grooves formed in the facing surfacesof said plates.
 4. The invention as recited in claim 1, wherein the saidhousing comprises a pair of spaced plates, and wherein the said meansforming aligned slots comprises aligned slots formed in said plates andextending to edge portions thereof.
 5. The invention as recited in claim1 in combination with a fluid cylinder having a piston, and a controlrod having one end connected to said piston and the other end connectedto said slide bar.